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The Orange Thimble @ Tiong Bahru

Tiong Bahru has seen many new cafes appearing in the area in recent years and we managed to find time and visited one of them. Introducing The Orange Thimble – Where Art Meets Cafe.

I remember when I was a very young boy, Tiong Bahru was (and still is!) one of my favourite places to go for decent, good food with my family. Something that I really looked forward to every Sunday, actually. I stayed around the area for more than 17 years before I moved to another location and up till this day, I enjoy going back to the area for a good meal.

In comparison to the Tiong Bahru we know now as compared to the yesteryear, I can safely say that the area hasn’t changed much except for the new building which houses the hawker center and the occasional fresh coat of paint for the low-lying flats.

The Orange Thimble is situated along Eng Hoon Street and I would consider the cafe to be rather eye-catching whether it’s day or night. Not just because of it’s traditional looking facade, but also the bright orange folding doors, metal folding grills with fresh silver-coated paint and the cozy looking interior design. In fact while I was seating behind the glass panel having my meal, I noticed quite a number of passersby actually stopped and took a look in.

Coming to The Orange Thimble sort of reminded me that I am entering a Starbucks cafe. It’s basically a help-yourself, free seating cafe and whatever food or beverages serve here are written clearly on the high chalkboards behind the counter. As such, don’t expect yourself to be served or be given a menu.

At first glance, the cafe may look small but in reality it’s really far from that. Walk further into the cafe and you will find more seats available at the back, including some really cozy corners! So before you even think of walking away from the cafe just because you see the main area of the cafe is full, why not come on in and check the back for a pleasant surprise?

As I was here during a weekday evening, the choice of food items on the menu was rather limited but here’s what the orders were.

BBC, also known as Bacon Brie Cranberry ($8.50)

The BBC is a combination of streaky bacon topped with tangy cranberry sauce, lettuce, creamy brie, generous serving of our favourite wild rocket sandwiched between and thick-sliced walnut bread. The entire combination is surprising good and I really love the sweet refreshing taste of the cranberries. The side salad is pretty good too.

The Chixie ($8.50)

This chicken sandwich is pretty good in my opinion. Sandwiched between the Ciabatta bread (one of my favourite types of bread) are bits of juicy chicken chunks, delicious Hungarian salami slices and crispy lettuce. The peachy mayo dressing really compliments the sandwich. Personally I love the overall strong taste of the dressing and salami slices.

Apart from sandwiches, The Orange Thimble offers All Day Meals such as the Good Ol’ Shepherd’s Pie ($9.00, comes in Beef or Chicken) and The English Roll ($5.50), along side with various kinds

All-day breakfast is not available everyday of the week. As such, for those who intends to come here for Breakfast would probably want to refer to the following “schedules” to avoid disappointment.

The English Breakfast which consists of 2 sunny-side ups, 2 pork sausages, bacon, sauteed mushrooms, roasted tomatoes and home-made baked beans served with 2 toasts for $11.50. (Optional $3.50 add-on for a regular hot drinks). Available on every Friday from 9am to 11.30am and All-Day on Weekends.

“The Breakfast Treat”, which customers can add on $3.50 to any all-day sandwiches / meals for a regular hot drink is also available to between 9am – 1130am from Fridays to Sundays.

There are also a number of pastries and bread to choose from, such as the quiches, croissants and bread loafs.

Foamy and caramel-iciously good. It’s so beautifully done that I couldn’t bear to drink it. In fact, the barista actually took the extra effort to bring the drinks to my table personally so that the art on the beverage won’t get messed up. Mind you, this is a usually-self service cafe so kudos to the barista for doing so!

Conclusion
I personally quite like coming to The Orange Thimble but frankly it’s not really for the food itself or beverage but the entire experience itself. Food-wise The Orange Thimble delivers decent but not entirely fantastic food and I do wish that there’s more choices in it’s menu. That said, this is one cafe worth coming to spend a lazy afternoon and sip your favourite beverage away because it’s just so cozy and inviting.

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2 responses to “The Orange Thimble @ Tiong Bahru”

Chance upon this place cos the bakery shop next door is full house n an hour wait for breakfast. Tot it was a nice discovery but soon found the service to be wanting. Nobody cleared the table and had to remind them twice to do so when the staff were just standing around the counter pretending to be busy. No apologies at all for not clearing tge table when the drinks were ready. The staff noted tat they foegot one of our orders n despite our reminder, the drink never arrive till end of our meal. Nice ambience but terribke service. Thumbs down n will never ever set foot into this place again!